Drawer locking mechanism for trunks



1933- F. w. MEYER DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM FOR TRUNKS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, 1950 ll ll llll gimentoz @w 1/ Aug. 1, 1933. F. w. MEYER DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM FOR TRUNKS Filed Feb. 5, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII g uwvtom fiwWdflAym c 2 drawer and there is not sufficient space between show a' detail; of construction; j

Patented Aug. I, 1933 I J I v l j i Y UNITED STATES PATENr-oFFlCE,v

1,920,654; V DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM FOR TRUNKS C Frank W, Meyer, Oshkosh, Wis.,yassignor, by

mesne assignments, to Oshkosh Trunks, Inc., Oshkosh, Wis., a Corporationpf Wisconsin Application February 3, 1930. Serial No. 425,536

' Claims. (eras-94) This invention relates to a drawer locking thatitmaybelocked to the front face of the mechanism for trunks and more particularly for drawer which it overlaps when looking all of wardrobe trunks. 1- the, drawers in the trunk through the drawer Heretofore it has been the general practice lockingmechanism.

5 with respect to drawer locking mechanism for A further object of my invention is to, provide 60 Wardrobe trunks to resort to mechanisms in a recess orslot at the partition'to receive a porwhich the actuating means is located between tio'nv of the hasp when turned in the plane of the the uppermost drawer of the tier and the top partition so as to hold the haspfrom accidental wall of the drawer section of the trunk. This movement while the drawers are unlocked.

requires that the top portion of the drawersec- The invention consistsfurther in the matters tion be made dome-shaped in order to provide hereinafter"describedl'and claimed/ a space either to accommodate the actuating In the accompanying drawings mechanism or to allow the operating member to 'Fig. 1 is 'a view looking into a wardrobe trunk be swung above the uppermost drawer when acof the'center opening type, equipped with a draw- 7 tuating the mechanism to unlock all of the drawer locking mechanismof my invention; 9; ers in the drawer section. Such an arrangement j Fig.1 2 is *a vertical sectional view taken on is not applicable to a flat top wardrobe trunk line 2I2 of Fig. 1'; Y because the top wall of the drawer section is Fig. 3 is'an enlarged fragmentary. horizontal immediately adjacent theupper edges of the top sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 to the two to accommodate the actuating mech- .Fig. :4 is a vertical sectional view taken on anism or to allow the operating member to be line 44 of Eig.2 at the rear of the drawers to swung above the top drawer in unlocking said show thelocking bar and its mode of operation drawer locking device. V in simultaneously locking and unlocking of One of the objects of my invention is to con-,- the drawers; 1 nect the actuating mechanism with the movable Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on bar of the drawer locking device between the line 55 of Fig. 4 with a portion of the partiends of the bar so that the actuating mechanism tion wall cut away to show the shaft below the may be positioned between any two of the drawsame; I I i ers, preferably the upper drawer and the one be- Fig. 6 is a front elevational view showing the low, so that the. top wall of the drawer section crank handle member at the outer end of the of the trunk may be made fiat and thus avoid shaft; v v p the necessity of the dome-shaped construction 'Fig. 7 is a horizontal view taken on line 717 whichis more expensive thanthe flat wall one. of .Fig. 6; V I Another object of my invention is to utilize Fig; 8 is an elevational view of the, frontedge the usual horizontal partition wall between the of the partition to, show the slot or recess theretop drawer andthe one below as the support for in for the crank handle, said view being taken the actuating mechanism of the drawer locking along line 88- of Fig. 7; and. device, thereby making said wall serve a dual Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view takenonline purpose and avoid the necessity of incorporating 9 of .Fig. 5'. to show a detail of construcanyother .fixed means in the trunk section to tion. I serve as a support for said actuating mechanism. In the drawings, 1, 2 'i ndicate the two hinged Another object of my inventionis to provide together sections of the trunk. The section 2 the operatingmember of theactuating mechais the chiifonier section and is provided jwitha nism in a form of a crank handle located extier of drawers 3', 3, asusual in trunk structures terior of the tier of drawers and arranged to be of this generalkind. The drawers 3 are slidswung from a vertical position overlapping one ably supported in a suitable manner in the sec of the drawers on one side of the partition to a tion 2. As illustrated, section 21s pr'ovidedwith horizontal position in the plane of the partition one or 'more horizontal partitions 4 which exat which time all of the drawers are unlocked tend'the full width and depth of the section to and the handle member is out of the path of brace and strengthen thesame. These partitions movement of the. drawers between which it is are secured to theadjacent walls of the section located. and are arranged, one between the top or upper- A furthe'r. object of my invention is to make most drawer and the drawerimmediately below, 110 thishandle member in the formpf a hasp so as shown in Figs. ,1 and 2. The other partition is located farther down the section 2, preferably between the second drawer from the bottom and the one immediately above the same. The partitions provide supports for the drawers immediately above them, the other drawers being supported by angle strips'5, 5 secured to the side .walls of the section 2 beneath the bottoms of the respective drawers as shown in Fig. 4.

The drawer lockingmechanism of my invention comprises a main locking bar 6, preferably. in the form of a relatively flat strip of metal vertically disposed in the section 2 to the rear of the drawers 3 and extending nearly the full height of the trunk so as tosimultaneously lock and unlock all the drawers in the actuation of the bar in the manner to be presently described.

The bar 6 is mounted on the inside of the rear wall 7 of the section 2 by a pair of links 8, 8 these being disposed, one adjacent the upper end of the bar and the other at or adjacent the lower end of the bar, as shown in Fig. 4. The lower link 8 is pivoted at '9 to. the rear wall land has its other'end'pivotedito'the lower end of the bar.

The upper link 8 is pivoted atone end to the bar and'at its other end fixed to a shaft 10. The shaft 10 is horizontally disposed beneath the upper partition 4 preferably lying in a slot or groove 11 inthe under side of the partition as shown in Fig. '9. Astrap 12 is employed to support the shaft 10 adjacent its rear end, said strap being secured to the under side of the partition as shown. The shaft 10 extends slightly beyond the, front edge of the partition 4 and is there'provided with a crank or handle member 13, by means of which the shaft may be turned to impart an oblique movement to the bar 6 when simultaneously looking or unlocking the drawers 3 in the section 2.

' Each drawer is provided on its rear-wall with a hook 14, to engage around the rear side of the'bar 6 when thelatter is in drawer, locking position as shown in full lines in Figs. 3 and 4L The hooks l4 engage over the bar 6 from the side thereof opposite the links 8, so, that the bar, when moved obliquely away from the hooks will release the latter and permit any or all of the drawers, to. be individually slid into and out of the section 2.

The, drawers 3, when in closed position, abut against cleats 15, 15 secured to the section 2 against the innerside of its rear wall 7 at the corners of the, section sothat the. drawers will not contact with the bard to hinder ease, of movement thereof. Mo'reoventhese cleats serve to space the rear 'walls of the drawers a sufficient distance outward from the, rear wall '7 so that to. the'clea tlfi across the slot 17 toprevent dis placement of thebar outof the slot when'the bar is in drawer locking position and thus rigidly hold the bar in such position and prevent it from being bent or displaced should an outward pull be exerted on any of the drawers 3 when the latter. are locked by the bar.

B th'partitions 4, 4 extend thefull depth of the section 2 and each isprovided in its inner casing is provided with a spring pressed bolt 25 from thecasing 23 whereupon the handle membe. slightly'greater thanthe over-all width of the edge with a slot 19 through which the bar 6 exp tends. Each slot is made long enough to allow for the lateral movement of the bar 6 when the latter is swung into and out of drawer locking position. The slot 19 in the upper partition 4 is made wide enough to accommodate the upper link 8- which is located adjacent said partition. A stop member 19 is secured either to the upper partition 4, or to the rear wall 7 of the section 2 at the end of the slot 19 adjacent the link so as to limit the lateral swinging movement of the bar 6 when withdrawn from the hooks 14. By this means the partition 4 is relieved of strain when the bar 6 strikes the lug. The crank or handle member 13 is made in two parts, an inner part 20 which is fixed to the outer end of the shaft 1 0, and an outer part 21 which is hinged to the part 20 The part 21 is provided on its inner side adjacent its outer or free end with an apertured lug 22 through the medium .of which the ha d e m mber m b l ke when n ver ical. position so as to prevent unauthorized operation il? dr we oc in mesh nisma l he ii d inss,v I have h n. the k. f r e an le emhe n t e form usua u a e e; is lock is mounted on the front face of; the drawer 3, w ic i i m d a e below th up e a i o The in a a c i g 3 securedw t fr nt wall of the drawer and in position to be overai e y the part 1 wh th andle me be extends vertically downward'below the partition as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 6. The casing has aj vertical slot 24 to receive'the lug 22 The which snaps into the aperture in; the lug when the latter is forced into the slot as in'locking devices. ot this general type. The bolt may be withdrawn from the log by sliding laterally a part26 in which is a key hole to accommodate a key to lock the bolt 25 against sliding movement when it is desired to lock the handle member to he, draw r When thehandle member 13* is released from th ol h hea 21 m swung utw e my b rne u wa i t a o z nt position in which movement the shaft 10 is r a d, a d: th a s. moved. a r m. the hooks. 14 to; unlock all'the drawers. The outer end o t e t, 10 s. supp rted. by l at 2' which is secured beneath the upper partition 4 along its outer edge. This makes itnecessary to lessen the height of the drawer 3 immediately below the partitioninorder that the cleat 21 may belocate'd between the partition and the drawer. The thickness of the cleat'need only be su f ficient that the cornbined vertical dimension of thecleat a il n p rt on ti h o t a o ame handle member 13 j'so that the latter when in horizontal position will lie between the upper and lower edges of the combinedcleat; and partition and thus have. no parts projecting to interfere with the sliding movement of the drawers on opposite sides of the partition. The 'cleat' and e a t q a e ov ded with sis e nsv scesses at one side of the shaft 10 t o form aslot of? e a d s a e t nug re iv he man f. h haSP, 2 df ld the h l rmberi fl 145 fr m ac ide ta ove en whe ing. lon he ronb f. h pa ti i as ho nin F s,- and 1.. The hasp 21 is provided on its outer side, 8 11 101 asiiep ee nd tha nob 29hr. which the andl mem m e adil ra pedfip 1 swinging it to actuate the drawer locking device.

as to keep the locking mechanism in drawer unlocking position. Moreover, a single locking bar 6 may be employed and the construction is less complicated than those which utilize a plurality of locking bars which require a special form of link arrangement to move both bars simultaneously. With the shaft 10 supported by one of the partitions 4, the shaft may be located below the top of the drawer section of the trunk a distance equal to the depth of one or moreof the drawers I and thus the top wall of the trunk section may be made flat and be brought close to the upper edges of the top drawer as no space need be provided between the top of the'trunk and the top drawer to accommodate either the shaft orfor the swinging movement of the member employed to turn it. The result is that the locking mechanism of my invention may be installed in a flat top trunk which has not been the case. with those devices which require a dome-shaped top in order to provide the space necessary to accommodate the actuating mechanism and its actuating member. Whilemy invention is particularly applicable to flat top trunks, it can be installed in dome-shaped trunks which also have partitions between the drawers as one of these partitions may be employed to support the. shaft 10, the same as in a flat top trunk. Instead of a partition any other means may be arranged in the section to support the shaft or other member which may be used to actuate the locking mechanism at the rear of the drawers, which locking mechanism in the form shown inthe drawings includes the bar 6 and the hooks 14.

The details of construction shown and described may be variously changed and modified f having connected top, bottom, side and rear walls without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. v

I claim as my invention: Y

1. The combination with the drawer section of a trunk having a tier of slidable drawers therein of a locking mechanism arranged in the section to the rear of the drawers for simultaneously looking or unlocking them, a shaft. rotatably supported in the section between two of the drawers and connected with the locking mechanism for actuating it, a handle member connected to the outer end of the shaft for turning it, said handle member being accessible and operable at all times from the exterior of the drawers whether locked or unlocked, and means whereby the handle member may be held against accidental movement when in drawer unlocking position.

2. The combination with the drawer section oi a trunk having a tierv of slidable drawers there'- in, of a partition secured in the section between two of the drawers'a locking mechanism arrangedin the section to the rear of the drawers for simultaneously looking or unlockingthem,

'a shaft supported by the partition and connected with locking mechanism for actuating it, a hasp connected with the outer end of the shaftfor turning the same, said partition having a slot there-,

in at one side of the shaft, and a lug on the hasp to be inserted in said slot when the hasp is in drawer unlocking position. v i

3. The combination with the drawersection of a trunk having a tier of slidable drawers therein,

of a partition secured in the section between twoof the drawers, a locking mechanism arranged-in,

the section to the rear of the drawers for simultaneously locking or unlocking them,a shaft supported by the partition and connected with lock ing mechanism for actuating it, a hasp directly connected with the outer end of the shaft for turning same, said hasp lying along the front and within the confines of the partition when in drawer unlocking position and extendingjover the front of a drawer on one side of the partition when in drawer locking position whereby the hasp may be locked to said drawer through ,a locking device carried thereby.

4 The combination with the drawer section of a trunk having a tier of slidable drawers therein, of at least one partition secured'in the section between two of the drawers, a combined filling and supporting cleat disposed below said partition and above the drawer immediately below said partition, locking members carried by the drawers at, the rear of the same, a bar arranged in the section to the rear of the drawers, links ivoted to said bar whereby the. latter may be swung into and out of engagement with said members, a shaft extending in between the partition and the filling and supporting cleat and connected with the bar through one of the links j for actuating the bar, means coasting with the shaft and the partition for supporting the shaft for rotation, said filling and said supporting cleat also aiding in the support of the shaft, and means at the outer end of the shaft for turning it;

5 In a wardrobe trunk, an upright section forming a container for a tier of drawers which are slidably mounted in the section, the top wall 1 of the section being substantially fiat and form- ,ing a closure for the uppermost drawer of the tier, locking elements on the drawers at the'rear "of the same, a locking mechanism mountedin the section to the rear of the drawers and movable into and out of l eking engagement with said elements for simultaneously locking and unlocking all of the drawers, a shaft rotatably supported cessible and operable at all times from the ex-t terior of the drawers whether locked or unlocked.

' FRANK W. MEYER. 

